Musarrat Nazir Khawaja (; born 13 October 1940) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

singer and film actress, who acted in many

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and Punjabi films. She is also known as ''The Silver Screen's Sparkling Star'' and is recognized for her role in

Cinema of Pakistan The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on culture of Pakistan, Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including ...

during the 1950s and 1960s. Many years later, she also sang solo, mostly wedding and

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

Early life

Her parents were a middle-class family of Kashmiri origin from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. Her father Khwaja Nazir Ahmed, worked as a registered contractor in

Municipal Corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

. Early in her life, her parents wanted her to be a doctor, and provided her with the best possible education they could afford. Musarrat passed the matriculation examination (10th grade) with distinction and passed the intermediate examination (12th grade) from Kinnaird College in

Career

She had keen interest in music and began singing for

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

in the early 1950s. However, insufficient money from the radio took her to the film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in 1955. She explained to Pasha her strong desire to sing for his movies. Instead, Pasha suggested that she should become an actress. Musarrat needed her parents' approval. Pasha himself met Musarrat's father and convinced him to allow his daughter to work in the movie industry as a singer and actress. Pasha changed Musarrat's name to her professional name ''Chandani'' and signed her up for a side role in his movie. Hence, Chandani made her debut with Sabiha Khanum and Nayyar Sultana in Pasha's film ''Qatil'' in 1955. Her role was secondary but effective. Sheikh Lateef of ''Capital Films'',

planned to make a Punjabi film, 'Pattan (1955)'. Lateef's friend, poet and script writer, Baba Aalam Siah Posh, advised him to cast Chandani (Musarrat Nazir) in the film. Lateef agreed. This was the debut of Musarrat Nazir, aka Chandani, in Punjabi films. Then she appeared in the hit Punjabi film, ''Pattan'' (1955), under her real name, Musarrat Nazir, and played the lead role opposite Santosh Kumar in ''Pattan''. The producer was Sheikh Lateef and the film was directed by Luqman. The film ''Pattan'' opened the doors for Musarrat in the Punjabi film industry, which led her to the hit film ''Patay Khan'' (1955). She was the supporting actress. The film was produced by film actress Shammi and Musarrat Nazir acted in a supporting role along with

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (21 September 192623 December 2000) was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema of Pakistan, cinema. Her career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,00 ...

and Aslam Pervaiz. Her main competitor actresses, in those days, were Sabiha Khanum, Asha Posley,

Bahar Begum Bahar Begum (born Kishwar Begum; ) is an actress best known for many Pakistani movies since 1956. She was first introduced to the Pakistani film industry by the renowned film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in the film Chann Mahi (1956). Anwar K ...

, Nayyar Sultana, Jamila Razzaq, Yasmin, Neelo and

. Musarrat also gave performances in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

cinema's greatest melodramas like the films ''Mahi Munda'' (1956) and ''Yakke Wali'' (1957). The film song ''Us bay wafa ka sheher hai'' in the mega-hit film ''

Shaheed ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acqui ...

'' (1962), is considered to be one of the popular songs in 2022. Even after she retired from her film career in 1988, she had continued to sing for

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...

until recently.

Personal life

She was born on 13 October 1940. She is married to a physician, Arshad Majeed, and has lived in Canada since 1965. They have three grown-up children in 2005 and her son Omar Majeed is a film director. Musarrat Nazir gave up her film career that was then at its peak for her would-be husband and agreed to move to Canada with him. Musarrat Nazir and Arshad Majeed wanted to return to Pakistan and settle in

in the late 1970s. Arshad Majeed wanted to set up a hospital in Lahore and they had gone ahead and bought a home there for this purpose which they still own and maintain in 2005. After spending a lot of money, months of struggle and running around, Arshad Majeed gave up.

Filmography

Television

Film

Discography

Musarrat Nazir made an appearance on Pakistani television's Tariq Aziz Show in 1983. Songs from that show became highly popular in Pakistan. Her popular songs are listed below: * ''Gulshan Ki Baharon Mein'' * ''Mera Laung Gawacha'' (1983), song lyrics by

Khawaja Pervez Khawaja Pervez (; 28 December 1930 – 20 June 2011) was a prominent Pakistani film composer- lyricist and film songwriter for both Urdu and Punjabi language, Punjabi language films. His birth name was Khawaja Ghulam Mohiuddin. His professional ...

was a runaway hit song * ''Chalay To Kat Hi Jaaye Ga Safar Aahistah, Aahistah'' * ''Apnay Haathoan Ki Lakiroan Mein'' * ''Lathe Di Chader Uttay Saleti Rung Mahiya'', a traditional folk song of Punjab * ''Chitta Kukkar Banairey Tay'' * ''Mehndi Ni Mehndi'' * ''Jogi Uttar Paharon Aaya'' (1985) * ''Mein Kamli Da Dhola''

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nazir, Musarrat 1940 births Living people Pakistani musicians Punjabi-language singers Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Kinnaird College for Women University alumni Actresses from Lahore Singers from Lahore Pakistani film actresses Recipients of the Pride of Performance Nigar Award winners 20th-century Pakistani actresses Pakistani folk singers Pakistani emigrants to Canada 20th-century Pakistani women singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Entertainers from Lahore People from Punjab Province (British India) Actresses in Punjabi cinema Actresses in Pashto cinema Actresses in Urdu cinema